


Freedom of the Seas

by plumeria47



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24629518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plumeria47/pseuds/plumeria47
Summary: The crew of the Black Pearl all know James shares Jack's bed. James can't decide whether that's intolerable or something of a relief.
Relationships: James Norrington/Jack Sparrow
Comments: 34
Kudos: 193





	Freedom of the Seas

**Author's Note:**

> Written way back in 2009, canon compliant only through the first movie. This is my first-ever (and, so far, only) PotC fic, so hopefully it's not too awful. With thanks to anemone rose for the beta.
> 
> For the PotC LGBT fest on LJ.

“Permission to come aboard?” The irony that he’s politely asking permission from a crew of lawless pirates is not lost on him.

There’s a pause, a raised eyebrow, then a lazy, rumbling, “Back again, Commodore?” The filthy tattered sleeves billow in the breeze as the other man spreads his arms wide. “I got nothin’ to hide – come on over and see for yourself.” He nods to one of his crew, the one with the wooden eye, and the man tosses the rope ladder over the edge. “Permission granted.”

<*>*<*>

James lies awake amidst the rumpled covers, feeling the familiar and soothing motion of the ship beneath him. Jack’s bare arm and leg are flung across James’ body, both familiar and not. It’s been - what, six months? A year? – since he’s last been here. Ever since he granted Jack “one day’s head start”, he’s made sure that the _Dauntless_ catches up to the _Black Pearl_ every so often, ostensibly to ascertain that the crew and contents satisfy the laws laid down by the East India Trading Company. In reality, he is here because Jack satisfies something else, entirely. 

He knows he’s had these yearnings before, but they have mostly gone unanswered amidst the stiffly upright society he has always been part of. There was a brief clandestine affair with Humphrey Roberts, back when he was a lieutenant, and a few brief fumblings in boarding school, but, otherwise, he has kept his desire for men to himself. He knows that people see what they want to see - who would ever suspect that proper James Norrington had such unspeakable urges? – and yet he sees no reason to risk their suspicion by flaunting, or even hinting at, a same-sex attraction. Besides, it’s not like there was anything _wrong_ with Elizabeth, and if he’s expected to marry a woman – as he surely is – then he could have been contented enough with her.

Here on the _Black Pearl_ , however, such societal expectations are disregarded – if, in fact, these pirates have any societal expectations at all. The very first time he emerged from Jack’s quarters, even though he had supposedly just gone in to discuss the books, and even though he was sure his uniform was as tidy and unrumpled as when he’d gone in, he was immediately surrounded by knowing looks and leers, and even a few direct catcalls. “Have a good roll, Guv?” “Did a bit of swordplay, did’je?” How did they know? And, more importantly, didn’t they _care?_ Didn’t they care their captain was a … well … _that_ way? Apparently not. Nor, oddly, did they seem to think any differently of _him_ , or no worse, anyway. The next time he came aboard, in fact, he was handed a tankard of grog, and although it would have been unseemly for him to appear drunk upon his return to his peers, he was oddly touched by the gesture. They knew about him here. They knew his visits had nothing to do with stolen silver or rum, and even though he wasn’t there to arrest them, he was hardly going to be a popular figure given the past. Knowing what he and Jack were really doing should have made them even more disdainful – it’s certainly what he would have expected amongst his own peers. And yet, this band of unwashed brigands still welcomed him. 

Being aware that the dirty, uncivilized group just beyond the door know precisely who he is – know more about him, in some ways, than the people he has spent a lifetime with – annoys him in more ways than he can count. Whom he beds is his own personal business, after all. These scalawags know something he has not freely told them, something he has not freely told _anyone_ , except those rare past partners, and even then, it was nothing they really _talked_ about. He feels violated by their knowledge in a way, knowing he can no longer hold this deepest secret close to his chest like a hand of cards. Not with them, anyway. 

And yet … and yet…. As disreputable as most of them are, and for the privacy they have taken from him, they have also given him something no one else has: acceptance. In their salty minds, he is no less of a man for his desires. He need not be sent to the gallows for crimes against God and Nature. There may be catcalls and inappropriately risqué remarks when he emerges, but no slander. James realizes that he is able to relax in Jack’s bed in ways he never could before, not when he feared someone might stumble upon his trysts at any moment and bring unspeakable consequences down on him. What would the world be like, James wonders, if he could breathe this easily all the time? To know he could give his heart and body to whomever he liked, to enjoy their company at leisure, without secrecy or fear of repercussions? The fact that he is currently giving his heart and body to a lawbreaking scoundrel seems nearly inconsequential; what matters is that the lawbreaking scoundrel is a _man_. He wants to acknowledge his preference for a taut chest under his hand, stubble under his lips, hardness jutting into his groin. It took him so long to accept it, himself; he never thought what it would be like to have others accept it, too.

He might not have that ashore, where the rest of the civilized world is built upon Adam and Eve, and those who do not fit the mold must try to reshape themselves, and disregard their true natures. But here on the _Black Pearl_ , he feels within him a peace he has never before experienced. He is not a pirate, nor will he ever be one. But he can be _himself_ , here, amongst those who are otherwise his antitheses in every way. On the whole, he decides, he prefers his life with the pirates. The ironies of life never cease to amuse – he understands why seemingly upright Elizabeth turned to them as well. Perhaps eventually he will be able to share this part of his life with her, if she becomes pirate-like enough. 

James rolls over toward Jack’s sleeping form, waking him with a kiss. “Wantin’ another go, do ye?” Jack rumbles, before pausing to run his tongue along James’ jaw. He tries to reply, but only manages a low moan; Jack correctly interprets his assent anyway. “Let’s make yer mates wait a good long time, then, shall we?”

“Yes,” he whispers, pulling Jack on top of him, giving himself over to the man he is and the other man he loves.

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel _free_ to leave a comment. Concrit is all right, too - just be polite. :-)


End file.
